


Love Me or Love Me Not, I'm Gonna Give It All I've Got

by love_stella



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Didn't Know They Were Dating, Getting Together, How To Seduce A Guy According To A Dumbass, Lifeguard Jer, M/M, Swim Instructor Phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-20 08:56:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17019651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_stella/pseuds/love_stella
Summary: “Don’t listen to Math over there, I’m way cooler than he’s letting on,” Jér says, putting on his best smirk before letting the gap between his front teeth when he smiles. “He’s just the snack man, nearly as important as a lifeguard like me.” You’re the real snack here isn’t something Jér’s thinking, he swears.





	Love Me or Love Me Not, I'm Gonna Give It All I've Got

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aimerai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aimerai/gifts), [heybernia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heybernia/gifts).



> IF YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW IS MENTIONED IN THIS STORY PLEASE TURN BACK NOW AND SAVE US ALL THE EMBARRASSMENT 
> 
> Merry Christmas Heather and Aimee I hope you both love this as much as I do. Thanks for being so excited about this and encouraging me to write this back when this was a thing that would never happen. 
> 
> special thanks to Ellie for the beta and being the best hype-woman a girl could ask for. 
> 
> thanks deja for the beta 
> 
> also thanks Aimee for the title it's a great one.

Giles’s new hire is an absolute beast of a man; Jér hasn’t even seen him with his shirt off yet, but he can see the outline of abs for days and arms he’d like to get his hands on. How in the hell is he supposed to teach infants how to swim, his hands have to be bigger than they are.

Shit shit shit, he’s coming this way. Jér’s not ready for this he’s still got his ratty beanie and sunglasses on.

“Hi I’m Phil,” he says, in the softest voice imaginable. Jér’s not melting, he swears.

Math answers before Jér gets a chance, which is probably a good thing because shouting “I bet you could bench press me” is not the introduction Jér wants.

“Nice to meet ‘ya Phil, I’m Math, Zach’s the hairy one, and Jér’s the walking meme,” he says, which, he’s not wrong but _come on man_ Jér’s trying to look good here.

“Don’t listen to Math over there, I’m way cooler than he’s letting on,” Jér says, putting on his best smirk before letting the gap between his front teeth when he smiles. “He’s just the snack man, nearly as important as a lifeguard like me.” _You’re the real snack here_ isn’t something Jér’s thinking, he swears.

“I saw the red shorts and figured,” Phil jokes, visibly avoiding looking at the area in question.

“Again, a walking meme,” Math laughs, slapping a hand over Jér’s mouth when he tries to object again. “He’s got a beanie with an emoji wearing sunglasses, stick around and I’m sure you’ll see it.”

Ok, now Jér’s got to defend himself because that’s his favorite beanie and it’s iconic, but judging by the way Phil’s starting to blush and fidget maybe now’s not the time for a Mathieu vs Jéremy debate.

“So what brings you to our humble watering hole?” Jér asks.

“You know there’s nothing humble about you,” Zach says, cutting him off just to look cool. Younger brothers man, they’ll cockblock until the end of time.

“Seriously though, what brings you here?” Math says, cutting them off before they can start arguing.

“My dad got a job out here,” Phil says. “So we packed up and moved from New Brunswick.”

“That’s a long ways,” Math says, sounding sympathetic to even Jér’s ears.

“Yeah, I worked at the local pool so I figured coming here made the most sense,” Phil tells them.

“Well we’re glad to have you,” Jér says, finally shaking Phil’s hand and trying not to think about how big it is.

“Don’t you have a job to do? Alex’s shift ended five minutes ago, pay attention,” Zach interrupts.

“I’m older than you, you can’t tell me what to do,” Jér whines, momentarily forgetting that Phil’s still there.

“Yes, but Giles likes me more so you should go do your job before I tell on you,” Zach says, and dammit he’s right but he doesn’t have to brag about it.

“Catchya later Phil,” Jér says, again letting the gap between his teeth show when he smiles. Guys love that, and Jér’s not going to play fair if he doesn’t have to.

***

Jér’s trying not to die, Phil’s teaching the tadpole class which equals a lot of dripping wet skin being unnecessarily paraded around while Phil teaches three-year-olds how to tread water. The baby voice coupled with the gentle way that Phil tells Kayla that she’s “doing a great job sweetie” as he picks her up and twirls her around would be enough to kill a grown man, really, Jér’s _brave_ for watching it.

The kids absolutely love Phil. Jér thinks it’s because he lets them climb on him like a tree – a thought that’s _never_ crossed Jér’s mind _ever_ – but it’s more likely how good he is with them. There’s never a minute he’s not praising at least two of them, making sure they’re all safe and having fun instead of just being at a swim class.

“That’s great Jake, but how about you come out here and help me show Lanie how to float?” Phil asks one of the shyer boys who seems to be staying closer to the steps and avoiding the rest of the kids. “It’s ok if you don’t want to, but I’m sure Lanie would really like the help, wouldn’t you sweetie?”

Jér’s never seen a child nod her head so fast, looking at Phil like he’s giving her the world instead of trying to coax a child further into the water. “Yeah yeah yeah please Jakey,” she says.

“If I hold your hand will you come out here?” Phil asks, and _man_ Jér’s dying over here at how gentle his voice is.

He almost misses the “okay” from Jake, too caught up in the way Phil’s making his massive shoulders as small as he can, and it must work because the boy takes Phil’s hand and half-stumble half-swims into the slightly deeper end of the kiddie pool.

He swears he’s not trying to stare, it’s his job to watch over the pools after all, but Phil must feel eyes on him because as soon as Jake’s showing Lanie how to hold her head back so it stays above the water while she’s on her back, Phil looks over at Jér and gives him the smallest, friendliest wave Jér’s ever received.

Jér waves back and the smile he receives in return is truly brighter than the sun. Alex chooses that moment to make his presence known, Jér’s shift is finally over even though it doesn’t feel like he’s worked more than 10 minutes with how quickly time’s passed while he’s watching Phil and the kids.

“Do I want to know how long you’ve been staring at him?” Alex says. “You really should just ask him out already, he’d probably say yes.”

“You don’t know that,” Jér whines. “This is fine, we’re friends and I get to see him everyday. I can’t ruin this.”

“Ruin what,” Phil says, and _shit_ Phil’s class ends at the same time Jér’s shift does, and that’s Jér’s cue to get the fuck out of there.

***

Jér almost doesn’t notice when a little kid trips and scrapes his knee on the deck – Jér’s pretty sure he was running when _come on_ there are signs all over the fucking place saying not to –he’s too busy chirping Math for the shorts he’s wearing, Jér’s pretty sure they’ve got flamingos on them but he’s not 100% sure.

“At least they’re not bright red and too short,” Math chirps back. “You know you don’t have to dress like you’re on Baywatch just because you’re a lifeguard.”

“At least I look good,” Jér says, letting the smirk take over his face. Any further chirps are cut off by the kid’s cries and a “go do your job Jéremy” from Math.

Jér starts to get out of his chair to help the kid when he makes the mistake of glancing over at the lanes where Phil’s teaching grouchy teenagers how to do the butterfly, or at least, he _was_ teaching grouchy kids how to do the butterfly, but he’s not anymore.

Phil choses that moment to climb out of the water, and how is Jér _not_ supposed to stumble when he notices a few drops of water gliding past Phil’s chain down his collarbone?

“You’re supposed to be saving people,” Zach smirks, and dammit Jér has to start paying attention to what’s going on around him, when did Zach even get here? “I can’t be saving you when you fall out of your chair drooling about Phil.”

“Shut up bro,” Jér also needs better comebacks, but Zach’s not totally wrong.

In Jér’s defense, that’s only happened one other time in the two months Phil’s been working at the pool, and even then it was more of a “whoops I slipped while I was readjusting myself in the chair” than an actual fall, at least that’s what he’s telling himself and Zach every time he brings it up.

Jér risks another glance at Phil knowing that his brother will chirp the shit out of him for it, and Phil’s luckily drying himself with a towel instead of witnessing Jér’s fall. Unfortunately that also means that Phil’s stretching the towel across his shoulders and down his abs and Jér’s got a perfect view of the show.

“You should probably take off before you do something stupid like actually drool,” Zach says, enjoying this way too much, and Jér focuses all his attention on chasing Zach into the snack bar and is proud to say he doesn’t look back at Phil once.

***

See, Jér has a plan to properly seduce Phil, and it goes a little something like this:

“So Phil,” Jér says, running his hand through his curls like he’s embarrassed and delighting in the blush already starting on Phil’s cheeks. “Giles wants to make sure the lifeguards actually know how to swim more than just jumping into the water and grabbing someone. You think you could help me out? It’d be quick I promise, just you watching me do a lap or two and signing off.”

“Sure, I’d love to help,” Phil says. “But you’ve gotta be up to my standards or I won’t sign off.” _Wait did he just flirt back?_ Jér wonders, because if Phil did indeed just flirt back then his plan will be even easier than Jér thought.

“Cool, I’m free when your last class gets out if you’re up for it,” Jér says, hoping Phil doesn’t say no.

“Sounds like a plan.” Oh, if only Phil knew.

Jér tries his hardest not to watch Phil with Lanie and the other kids while he waits for class to let out, but Phil makes it _so hard_ whenever he lets out a startled laugh at someone’s antics that has Jér melting into his seat or when Phil picks Erin up after she stubbed her toe on the side of the pool and he makes the funniest faces trying to get her to smile. Besides, the rest of the pool is quiet so it’s not like he actually has anything to else to pay attention to.

Before he knows it, Phil’s doing his goodbye ritual with each of the kids – at the first class, apparently Phil let each kid create a handshake that they do at the beginning and ending of every class, and how can Jér not be attracted to this guy? – and making sure everyone’s parents are there to pick them up before drying off and heading in Jér’s direction.

“You ready?” Phil asks, and Jér’s never been more ready for anything in his life.

“Let’s do this.”

Jér makes a show of taking his shirt off, pulling it way over his head so Phil can see his abs and the slightest hint of pudge, and delights in the way Phil’s eyes catch on his chest before flashing back up to meet his eyes. Jér thinks they’re on an even playing field now, but he can’t say for sure until he follows through with the rest of the plan.

Jér can swim just fine, diving into the water and doing a simple freestyle stroke back and forth while Phil watches from the deck of the pool. He can’t resist splashing a little when he gets back to Phil, and the startled laugh Phil lets out is more than worth the exercise he’s about to get.

“Good, now show me a breastroke,” Phil instructs, and Jér’s glad he’s in the water already so he can hide the shiver at the thought of Phil telling him what to do.

Jér does exactly that, this time taking a gulp of water and squirting it at Phil’s feet when he’s done with the laugh, and Phil jumps out of the way, laughing the entire time.

“Shouldn’t you be in the pool with me if this is a test?” Jér asks, because this would be so much more fun if Phil actually swam with Jér instead of just watching.

“It’s not a test if I can’t see what you’re doing _Jéremy_ ,” Phil laughs. “Besides, you’re a lifeguard if something happens you can save yourself.” Ok seriously, Jér’s sure Phil’s flirting with him now.

Jér pouts and splashes some more water at Phil, actually managing to get the water high enough that some of it lands on Phil’s abs – in hindsight, that was a bad idea because now all Jér can think about is licking it off Phil when he should be focusing on the plan.

“Ok ok we should focus if we want to get home,” Phil says, trying not to laugh and failing. “Show me your backstroke.”

“Watch it and weep,” Jér says, and he means it: he can’t actually do the backstroke and everything is going according to plan.

Jér _tries_ , he swears he does, but it’s mostly him flopping around on his back like a fish out of water and he knows he looks like an idiot but he really just wants Phil in there with him.

“Very funny Jér,” Phil says, before he realizes that Jér’s not fucking around. “Ok please stop before you hurt yourself.”

Phil dives in and casually swims up to Jér before telling him to “do it again, I’ll help you.”

As gently as he can, Phil helps Jér onto his back and starts moving his arms and legs into the correct backstroke position before letting go and wow, this is definitely not what Jér meant by getting on his back for Phil, but it’s a start.

Phil keeps his hand on the small of Jér’s back before giving Jér the ok to start moving, and holy shit how is Jér supposed to focus _now_. As hard as it is, he forces himself to stop thinking about the feeling of Phil’s hand on him and the gentle encouragement Phil keeps giving him as they slowly move across the pool, and before he knows it Phil’s let go and he’s doing the backstroke on his own.

“That was great,” Phil says once they finish their lap.

“You had to hold my hand the entire time,” Jér says, exaggerating his pout to make Phil laugh and show one of his dimples.

“Not the _entire_ time,” Phil smiles, not listening to any of Jér’s whining. “You swam back on your own.”

Neither of them see Zach watching them, and they _definitely_ don’t see him walking up and jumping on Jér’s back.

“What the fuck Zach?” Jér shouts, startled beyond belief.

“I just wanted to see why you’re both still here, you finally learning to swim?” Zach smirks.

“I know how to swim asshole,” Jér says, taking advantage of his brother being distracted by his own brilliance to mess up Zach’s hair that he works way too hard on.

“I’m just signing off on the thing Giles wanted the lifeguards to do,” Phil tells him.

“What thing? Forts hasn’t said anything?” Zach says, this time genuinely curious and not just being a little shit.

“The swim test –” Phil starts to say, and that’s Jér’s cue to get the fuck out before Zach embarrasses him or worse, he embarrasses himself.

“Zach didn’t you have something you wanted to show me at home?” Jér says, grabbing Zach by the wrist and dragging him straight to the car, proper clothes be damned.

“Bye Phil,” Zach squeaks out before they’re out of earshot, and this is definitely not how the plan was supposed to end. “Are you going to tell me what that was about or do I have to guess?”

“Not now alright,” Jér says, because they both know Zach will figure out what Jér’s up to, subtlety isn’t Jér’s strong suit at least according to Zach.

“Fine you can tell me over dinner,” Zach decides, and _that_ sounds like a plan that can’t fail.

***

Jér’s usually on duty when the ice cream truck shows up at the pool – Phil always makes sure the kids get a break so they can grab treats but like Jér, he’s on duty so he can’t get anything for himself – but this time the truck comes late and Jér’s able to meet it.

“Hey Phil, come get ice cream with me,” Jér pleads. “It’s delicious and I always see you turn Lanie down when she asks if you want to share.”

“My class starts in 20 minutes,” Phil starts to say before Jér cuts him off.

“Perfect, that gives you 20 minutes to eat a snowcone or whatever you want, my treat,” Jér insists, already walking out to the gate the truck’s parked at before looking behind him to see if Phil’s following him, which he is.

Jér already knows what he wants and doesn’t hesitate to order the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ice cream bar with the gumball eyes, he doesn’t care what Math says it’s a classic and he’s _always_ gotten it since he was a child.

“Get whatever you want Phil but don’t judge me,” Jér says, and nods approvingly when Phil orders a vanilla drumstick. It’s a little boring but at least it’s not an ice cream sandwich, Jér has standards and he would’ve permanently revoked Phil’s ice cream truck privileges if he ordered one.

Jér pays for the ice cream and leads Phil to the picnic benches under one of the trees outside the pool gate so they can eat their treats in peace without worrying about eavesdropping brothers.

“Thanks man,” Phil says once they sit down, and Jér would answer but he’s busy scooping the gumballs out of Michelangelo eye sockets with his tongue. Once the excavation is successful he puts each gumball between his teeth and beams at Phil, only then noticing the way Phil’s eyes are stuck on his mouth and how red his ears are.

Before he realizes what’s going on, Phil reaches over with a napkin and wipes Jér’s nose, and when he pulls the napkin away there’s a splotch of green ice cream on it.

“Sorry you had...” Phil trails off, gesturing at the napkin.

“Thanks bro,” Jér says, hoping his nose isn’t as red as it feels.

“No problem,” Phil says.

They eat the rest of their ice cream in silence, just enjoying each other’s company and that’s honestly more than Jér ever thought he wanted.

Jér’s able to return the favor, pointing out that Phil’s got chocolate on his bottom lip and doing everything in his power not to lean over and lick it off.

They’re little ice cream date – not that it’s actually a date, as much as Jér wants it to be – by one of Phil’s students coming over to say hello before the class starts.

“Hi Phil,” the little boy, Darren, Jér thinks, shouts before running straight into Phil’s knee and giving him hug. Jér’s not dying at the gentle way Phil returns the hug without missing a beat, he swears. “You’ve gotta see me swim Phil, I’ve been practicing every day at home.”

“Well I hope your mom and dad are keeping an eye on you,” Phil says, every bit as worried as he sounds. “You wouldn’t swim by yourself, would you Darren.”

Jér’s surprised Darren doesn’t get whiplash with how fast he shakes his head no, and Phil looks at Jér shamefully before saying “I’m really sorry Jér, I should get back to the pool with Darren.”

“That’s fine man, have a good class,” Jér says.

“Can you say goodbye to Jér, he’s a very important lifeguard,” Phil asks Darren, nodding his head to let the little boy know it’s alright.

“Bye Jér,” Darren murmurs, before Phil grabs his hand and leads him to the pool.

 _Bye Phil_ , Jér thinks at Phil’s retreating form, thinking about how to get Phil away from the pool so they can actually have some alone time. He’ll figure it out, he has to.

***

“Come to lunch with me,” Jér says before Phil even gets a chance to climb out of the pool after his lesson.

“Huh?” Phil asks, shaking the water out of his hair and grabbing a towel which is just unfair. Jér knows it’s his fault, he’s the one who walked up to Phil at that moment he should have known what he was in for. He’s really trying not to pay attention to the water pooling at Phil’s collarbone and dripping down his chain but judging by the look on Phil’s face he’s failing miserably.

The thing is, Phil doesn’t look upset that Jér’s staring, if anything the blush on his cheeks is getting darker and Jér could swear Phil’s trying to make a show of drying off. Jér’s stomach rumbling drags him out of that train of thought, and oh yeah, Jér’s supposed to be asking Phil out to lunch. As bros, as much as Jér wishes it was more than that.

“You. Me. Lunch,” he says.

“Oh yeah, sure,” Phil says.

“Is pizza ok, there’s a new place across the street I’ve been waiting to try,” Jér says, which is the truth. He’s not about to tell Phil that it’s a small restaurant with mostly two person tables with flowers on each of the tables and a menu longer than his dick, he’s not lying, he hasn’t eaten there yet but he _has_ checked it out.

“That’s cool but we should probably change first,” Phil’s got a point there, so they head to the locker room and again, Jér swears he’s not trying to look at Phil but if he didn’t know any better it would seem like Phil’s trying to show off.

The walk to the restaurant is a quick one, but Phil and Jér stick close together, shoulders bumping every once and a while and their hands close enough that if Jér reached his pinky out it would touch Phil’s. _It’s just bros_ Jér tells himself the entire time, _you’re imagining that_.

The hostess greets them right away, and even though it’s lunch time the place isn’t terribly crowded so they get settled at a table in the back, private enough that if this _were_ a date they wouldn’t be interrupted. Jér tells the ache in his chest to go away, but it doesn’t seem to want to listen, only getting worse when Phil’s knees bump Jér’s under the table. He wasn’t kidding, the tables are small and there’s not a lot of space between them. Again, perfect for a date, but this isn’t one.

“Do you wanna just split something?” Phil asks, and even though Jér knows they both can eat, he’s seen Phil dismantle three entire plates of Chinese in one sitting and he’s not any better, Jér finds himself agreeing without a second thought.

“Pepperoni’s a classic, we could go with that?” Jér asks.

“Nah man, we’ve gotta get some sort of veggie on there,” Phil answers, and of course the swim instructor wants to eat a healthy pizza.

“We could do half and half?” Jér suggests, and Phil agrees easily enough.

Of course once the pizza comes Phil ends up taking two pieces of Jér’s half, deciding that olives and artichoke hearts are boring and that pepperoni is the best, not that he’s actually going to admit it. Jér doesn’t mind sharing, it’s worth seeing the smile on Phil’s face when Jér says he can have some of his half anyways. Besides, by the time Jér’s done with three slices Phil’s already swallowed down his entire half and Jér’s pretty much full at that point, there’s really no point in letting the food go to waste.

By the time Phil’s done eating the restaurant’s started to fill up so as much as Jér wants to stay and talk with Phil it’s probably polite to pay and leave so the waitresses can serve more people instead of dealing with a lovesick boy on a not-date.

They get into a mini argument about who gets to pay the bill, Jér grabs it first before seeing that Phil’s wallet is already on the table with his card on top and they both insist on paying before deciding that they should just split the bill. _If this was a date I’d be paying_ , Jér thinks to himself, but it’s not so he doesn’t have any right to be upset about them splitting the bill.

The walk back to the pool is exactly the same as the walk to the restaurant, them bumping shoulders and Jér very much focusing on not holding Phil’s hand, and before he knows it they’re back.

Math’s standing by the front gate looking incredibly put-out, his arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed, and Jér doesn’t even get a chance to thank Phil for going to lunch with him before he’s being pulled into the snack bar and shoved up against the Icee machine.

“Dude what the fuck,” Jér starts, before getting cut off by Math.

“What are you doing with Phil, Jéremy?”

“We went to lunch,” Jér says, confusion coloring his voice.

“That’s nice, why?” Math says, and if Jér didn’t know any better he’d think Math was angry with him. Math doesn’t get angry – annoyed, sure, especially with Jér, but never _angry_ – and Jér has honestly no idea what he did to piss his best friend off.

“Because we were hungry,” Jér says. “People go out to lunch during lunch time when they’re hungry. Are you mad at me?”

“What, no I’m not mad,” Math says. “I’m just –”

“Ok well you fucking seem mad and I don’t know what I did,” Jér says.

“I just… I don’t want you to get hurt,” Math sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I know you like Phil, don’t deny it, and I don’t want you to torture yourself by hanging out with him.”

“I’m not torturing myself, ‘M fine,” Jér says. “It’s just lunch.”

“You know I can see you watching him, you’re not subtle, we both know Alex has seen it too,” Math says. “Ask him out before someone else does and you get your heart broken.”

Jér did know that Alex has called him out for crushing on Phil, remembers when Alex told him to just ask Phil out already and that was weeks ago, but he didn’t realize Math had noticed too.

“Don’t worry about me Math, I’ll figure things out,” Jér promises before pulling Math into a hug and ruffling his hair.

“I mean it, take care of yourself, I don’t want to have to drown Phil if he hurts you,” Math says, and he knows Math well enough to know that he’s only half joking.

“I will,” Jér promises again before he sees Zach come through the door which is his cue to get back to work.

***

Jér sees Phil wander to the snack bar after his class lets out so he counts down the time until his next break – or really, just until there’s few enough people in the pool for him to leave his post for a minute – and before he knows it it’s break time.

Jér goes to the snack bar where Math’s busy making some random concoction for them to try – yesterday it was an ice cream bar dipped in cheeto dust, last week it was nachos with hot fudge and dippin dots, it’s always a surprise with Math – and sees Alex and Phil sitting at one of the patio tables next to the counter, chatting avidly with the chef.

Jér takes advantage of Alex’s chair being so far from the table and promptly sits in his lap, laughing at Alex’s attempts to shove Jér off of him while he holds tightly to the edge of the table.

Alex eventually shoves Jér off of him, so Jér does the next best thing: he goes over to Phil and sits on his lap. Jér thinks he’s imagining it at first, but surely enough Phil wraps his arms around Jér’s middle and rests his chin on Jér’s shoulder saying “if you’re comfy then I get to be comfy too.”

Jér has to bite his tongue before he says anything he’ll regret like “this is the most comfy I’ve ever been” or “please don’t ever let go” and he’s saved when Math brings out his latest concoction: what appears to be a corndog covered in fake cheese sauce and whipped cream. Jér’d be surprised but he’s seen much, much worse and he’s always happy to support his best friend’s culinary adventures, so he grabs one of the corn dogs and happily takes a giant bite.

“This isn’t that bad, Math,” he says, taking another bite before he offers a critique. “It’s a little spicier than I was expecting, is that salsa I taste under the cheese?”

“You’ve got an excellent pallet mon jay,” Math says. “I put a little hot sauce under the cheese for an extra kick.”

Phil and Alex look like they’d rather not try the food, but Alex is a good sport and risks his taste buds to eat the corn dog monstrosity and hums pleasantly after the first bite.

“It is good Math, you did good this time,” he says.

“What do you mean this time, Forts?” Math accuses.

“You know I’m talking about the burrito Icee Mathieu,” Alex says. “I had food poisoning and didn’t leave my bathroom for days.”

Jér almost forgot he was sitting on Phil’s lap when Alex looks over Jér’s shoulder and asks Phil if he wanted to try some.

“No thanks, I’ve got class in a bit,” Phil says, his breath blowing against the side of Jér’s neck and making him shiver.

The thought of having to get off Phil makes Jér shiver in a different way; he wants to stay here as long as he can, laughing with his friends and pretending that he and Phil are more than that.

“Isn’t Jér heavy?” Math eventually asks. “My legs usually start to go numb after a few minutes when he’s on my lap.”

“He’s fine,” Phil says, sounding more content than Jér’s ever heard him. “I’m a big boy Math, I can hold Jér up.”

Now _that’s_ an image Jér doesn’t need to be exploring right now, thanks Phil, and Jér has to recite O Canada to get the image out of his mind. It works, but he already knows he’s going to explore that image later when he gets home, not that Phil needs to know. Jér doesn’t let him think that it’d be nice if Phil did know, so leans over and steals Alex’s corn dog to distract himself.

“You gotta get up bud,” Phil says in Jér’s ear a few minutes later. “I’ve gotta get ready for class.”

Jér tries not to pout as he gets up on shaky legs and gives Phil a kiss on the cheek “for being such a good chair” and delighting in Phil’s blush and trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

Jér swears he sees Phil put his hand on his cheek on his way to the locker room, but judging by the way Alex and Math are staring at him, his eyes might be correct.

“What was that about,” Alex whispers.

“What, I sit on your laps all the time,” Jér says.

“Yes but you don’t kiss us on the cheek,” Math says.

“No but I’ll kiss you on the mouth if you want,” Jér smirks, trying to come up with anything to distract them from the fact that he kissed Phil goodbye.  

“Shut up and stop being an idiot,” Math and Alex say in unison. “Make a move or leave him alone.”

“I’m working on it,” is all Jér can say, because he’s never had to work this hard to get a guy’s attention before. Before he says anything else, a dumbass teenager trying to show off slips off the diving board which means it’s time for Jér to get back to work. Just in time, too.

“Work harder,” Math shouts after him, and Jér pretends not to hear it, he’s in lifeguard mode after all.

***

Jér’s delighted when Phil asks him to go to the movies after work, both because he hasn’t been to the movies in ages and because it was _Phil_ asking him. Jér’s not going to let himself pretend it’s a date, bros go to the movies together all the time, and besides, Phil sounded so chill about asking that Jér’s sure he just wants to go as friends.

When Math asks if he wants to come over that night, Jér has to deal with the sad expression on Math’s face when he tells him that he’s going out with Phil as friends and Jér would really rather not deal with that right now.

Phil’s waiting for him in the locker room when Jér’s done with his shift, and the black v-neck and jeans look really shouldn’t affect Jér as much as it does but he’s literally dying at the sight of Phil. There’s no way the cardigan and baggy jeans that Jér wore to work can compete with that, but judging by the look on Phil’s face, almost want but Jér’s sure he’s just seeing what _he_ wants to see, he’s not doing too badly.

The theatre’s so crowded that Jér almost doesn’t notice when Phil grabs for his hand until he feels their fingers intertwine and Phil gently squeeze his hand as if asking if it’s ok to do this. Phil’s smiling at him nervously, so Jér gives his hand a quick squeeze back while hoping that his hand isn’t as sweaty as it could be with how fast his heart his beating.

The moment’s broken when someone shoves into them and that’s literally their cue to move up in line to buy their tickets. Phil insists on paying, they’ve decided on a new comedy but Jér honestly couldn’t tell you which one because he’s so focused on the feeling of his hand in Phil’s.

Phil makes sure they keep holding hands, it’s a smart plan really, if Jér was here with anyone else he might lose him but that’s practically impossible with Phil who easily towers over everyone else. Come to think of it, they should probably get seats in the back, just so no one gets mad if their view is blocked by Phil’s shoulders or curls.

Jér tells Phil just that and the startled laugh he gets for it is enough to make Jér think about another reason to be in the back of the theatre, but this isn’t a date so there won’t be any sneaky kissing on their parts.

Phil drags Jér to the snack bar and orders them a large popcorn to share and a box of skittles for Jér, he again insists on paying and Jér would pout about it, is ready to bust out his bottom lip until he sees the determined look on Phil’s face and it’s all he can do not to kiss that look off his face.

They end up sitting in the back row, and since no one sits in front of them Jér can’t resist putting his feet up on the seat in front of him and smiles when Phil does the same.

Phil keeps the popcorn in his lap, saying that “it’s fine, I’ll hold onto it so you can have your candy” when Jér offers to take it, which is even more torture for Jér because now he’s gotta focus on not letting his hand slip when he goes to grab a handful of popcorn.

He only manages to spill a few kernels through the entire movie with how badly his hands are shaking – he’s not going to talk about the skittles and how most of them are on the floor or melting in his seat – and all of the soda stays firmly in its cup and overall Jér’s pretty pleased at that.

Jér’s not able to pay attention to most of the movie, too caught up in how close Phil’s hand is to his and how easy it would be to put his hand on Phil’s and hold it again, now that he’s got a taste of their hands together it’s all he wants. Jér feels his hand itching to reach out and it’s taking everything in him not to just sit on his hands to keep them still – that wouldn’t be very subtle or very cool if Phil notices so he settles for a death grip on the arm rest so tight that after a minute his hand actually starts to crap. Still, that’s better than reaching out and making a fool of himself, or at least that’s what Jér tells himself.

Before he knows it, the lights are turning on in the theatre and the credits are rolling and it’s Jér’s cue to let go of that fucking arm rest. Phil’s already starting to stand up, smiling at Jér like the movie was the best he’s ever seen and dammit Jér really should have been paying more attention.

Jér drove them to the theatre, so he drives them back to the pool so Phil can get his car when Jér remembers that he forgot his swim shorts in the locker room so he gets out of the car too.

Phil’s looking at him expectantly, so Jér does what he’d do with any friend: he leans in and gives Phil a tight, lingering hug, smiling the entire time. Phil looks like he wants to say something, a confused expression on his face and if Jér didn’t know any better he’d think that Phil was expecting something else besides a hug – as much as Jér wants to kiss Phil, he’s not going to do it without permission and he’s sure Phil doesn’t actually _want_ Jér to kiss him, besides, he’s sure he’s seeing things that aren’t actually on Phil’s face.

Whatever Jér may or may not be seeing doesn’t matter, Phil’s front door opens before Phil gets a chance to say anything and Nic quickly pulls him inside before they get a chance to even say goodbye.

“Phil will see you tomorrow g’night Jér,” Nic says before slamming the door in Jér’s face. Jér stands there for a few minutes, the _what the fuck just happened_ written on his face before he decides that standing at the door gaping probably isn’t the best way to impress someone.

***

Jér shows up to the pool on his day off, ready to chill in the sun and watch Phil teach his classes, he even wore Math’s pink flamingo shorts to show off, but those plans are ruined when he sees Zach and Phil talking, Zach with a giant smirk and Phil almost looking like he’s pouting about whatever Zach’s saying.

Jér walks up to them just in time to hear Zach say something about “oh look your boyfriend is finally here, you can stop moping,” which, what?

Jér swears that Phil’s face lights up when he sees him, his eyes crinkling and that one dimple showing itself at the force of his smile before Jér ruins it.

“Very funny Zachary,” Jér says, only making Phil look more confused. “You know we’re just friends.”

Phil turns bright red at that and looks like he’d rather be anywhere else right now but Zach’s arm is around his shoulders preventing him from going anywhere, and Jér would really like to know what the fuck is going on right now. After a second Phil shrugs Zach off of him, muttering an excuse about getting ready for class even though it doesn’t start for another half hour and Phil and Jér _always_ grab an ice cream cone from Math before this specific class.

“You’d better go after him,” Zach says.

“What the fuck Zach, you know I haven’t asked him out yet, we aren’t dating,” Jér whispers, angrier than he’s been at his baby brother in a long time. “You can’t just say that shit.”

“I can’t say what, that you’re both obsessed with each other but you’re too stupid to actually admit that you want to date him?” Zach says.

“You can’t… I’m not…” Jér tries to say before Zach pulls him into a tight hug when he sees how flustered Jér is.

“It’s ok, I’m sorry I said anything but you really should go talk to Phil before this gets even more fucked up,” he says, not letting go for a minute before reaching up and messing up the curls Jér worked so hard on.

Jér finds Phil in the locker room, sitting on one of the benches with his head in his hands. He’s not sure if Phil actually wants company, so he clears his throat and waits for Phil to look up before he comes any closer.

“Jér, what are you doing here,” Phil chokes out, and when Jér gets close enough he can see that Phil’s eyes are red and his nose is a little runny.

“Do I have to beat Zach up?” Jér asks, thinking the worst: that the thought of dating him is enough to make a grown man cry.

“What? No of course not,” Phil says. “I’m just being stupid it’s fine.”

“Whatever’s making you upset isn’t stupid Phil,” Jér says, taking the conversation as permission to sit next to Phil and wrap an arm around Phil’s shoudler. “If you want to talk I’ll listen.”

“I already thought we were dating Jér,” Phil says, and Jér’s really confused now. “You bought me ice cream and have been taking me to lunch or dinner almost every day after work.”

“I wanted those to be dates, God you have no idea how badly,” Jér says. “But I wasn’t sure if you wanted to date a guy like me, you’re perfect and I’m...me.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to date you Jér,” Phil says. “You’re sweet and funny and _gorgeous_ and you like hanging out with me.”

“But I thought…” Jér has no idea how he’s going to finish that sentence, luckily he doesn’t get a chance because Phil’s kissing him breathless.

“So what I’m getting out of this is that we could have been doing this for months,” Jér says, half laughing because he can’t believe it.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for months,” Phil laughs against Jér’s mouth before bringing their lips together again.

Jer spends the rest of the day with his lips attached to Phil’s, they get kicked out of the locker room by Zach, kicked out of the snack bar by Math, and are making out in the shallow end of the pool when Alex catches them.

“Hey if you’re going to make out in the shallow end of the pool get the fuck out of here,” Alex says from his chair, but he’s smiling brighter than the sun, so Jér doesn’t think he’s actually mad.

“It’s fine, Phil’s teaching me how to hold my breath underwater,” Jér shouts, splashing water in Alex’s general direction.

“I think that involves actually going underwater Jér,” Phil laughs, splashing Jér in the face. _It’s on_ , Jér thinks before starting a full on water fight.

Giles must here the commotion, because the next thing Jér knows he’s standing over them from the safety of the pool deck with the most disapproving yet somehow not at all shocked expression on his face.

“Phil, that’s nice you’re giving lessons off the clock but if you boys are going to keep messing around you should leave before you embarrass me,” he says before walking away to talk to Math at the snack bar. Jér’s not the only troublemaker and everyone knows it.

“We could always make out at another pool?” Phil suggests once they’re alone again, and yes, _that_ sounds like a fantastic plan.

**Author's Note:**

> if you want to cry at me with these boys I'm @ aIexfortins on twitter (the l is a capital i if that matters) or gauthboy on tumblr.


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